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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Blue Zoo - Dolphin (WDW)

I have heard from Disney friends and foodies that this is an exceptional dining establishment.  Todd English is the celebrity Chef with his name on the door and I have heard wonderful things about his seafood so I decided to try it.

As it is located over at the Dolphin, it is a little bit of a trek to get to.  The Swan & Dolphin Resorts are on the water between Epcot & Disney Studios.  It should be noted they are not owned by The Mouse and as a result do not accept Disney Dining.

I got there right when they opened and was seated right away. The restaurant itself is gorgeous and my server was very fun and professional.

For cocktails I started out with a Cable Car.  This was a recommendation from my server and it was delightful. It is a rum drink with a cinnamon rim and an orange twist.  It is not too sweet, more of a twist on a "grown up drink" rather than a frothy, frozen "girlie drink".
I ordered my Main Dish:

Simply Fish - Our daily selection of finest fresh fish selected from coastal waters around the world, simply grilled on our teppenyaki grill. Served w/ choice of sauce...warm crabmeat, dijon mustard & chives or cucumber vinaigrette or red curry coconut, parsley & lemon. - $32.00 
Sauce supplements: lobster $5.00 or caviar buerre blanc $8.00 
They had a choice of four fish to choose from. I chose the one I had never heard of before - Covina. It is a thick fish, almost cod like in appearance. I ordered the crabmeat/dijon sauce and had them add the chunks of lobster to it for an additional $5. This was the best $5 I spent. The pieces were large and succulent. However, ... Houston, we have a problem.

Fish, unless it is sushi, should flake when it is done and be moist. The edge of my fish was lovely but when I went to break it in the middle the fish would not budge.  I thought "o no he didn't". This is exactly what I said to the server when he came to check on me.

My fish was raw. Not moist, not undercooked, it was 80% raw. This should NOT happen especially at this level of dining establishment and one that prides themselves on fish. The Chef really needed a boot in the junk. The server asked if I wanted another fish. I told him, no I would give the Chef the opportunity to get this right and ordered the covina again.

In the meantime, the Chef sent over this appetizer:






Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops - Served with a braised beef short rib, and silky cauliflower puree. - $14.00

This was amazing. I know the picture is blurry but I was so into eating I near forgot to take the picture. I cut each of the scallops in half. They were on the strip of short rib. The scallops were perfectly cooked as was the beef. It was tender and juicy. The cauliflower was so creamy and paired so well with this mini "surf and turf". This was an amazing dish! A+.

So my fish returns:






The flavor was delicate, the sauce was soooooo yummy. Creamy with lots of crab and lobster, just amazing but... I couldn't cut the fish. It was cooked but there was skin on the bottom and I couldn't cut through it. I though perhaps my knife was not serrated. Nope. I couldn't get through the skin with a buzz saw.

I told the server that the taste was good so I was keeping it as they did offer to replace it. The manager came over, told me the fish was a new menu addition and it must have been "stressed" when it died which is why the skin was so hard to cut. The Chef has pulled it from the menu for the evening. Stressed when it died = impossible to cut skin?  Huh?! Ummm, I've fished. You either catch fish with a line or a net or a cage. They are all equally stressed so unless they tortured this fish for fun, I fail to see how a fish being "stressed when it died" has anything to do with my dinner.

I asked the manager if the Chef cooked it during his prep this afternoon since it was new. He said no. I told him that Todd English would have. Gordon Ramsey would have. If a Chef is working with a new dish and new ingredient, they should cook it first to see how it works.

My entree and the appetizer were on the house so I just paid for my drink and a good tip for my waiter. I would go back here on my next trip in a heartbeat.

Why? The scallop was amazing, the service was stellar and the manager did the correct thing and "made it right". Hopefully this was a learning experience for their Chef when he gets new items. Next time I think I am going to order their Soy Lobster and am looking forward to it.







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